Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Old Austrian Exteriors

Salzburg Open Air Museum, Austria.










6 comments:

  1. What a lovely museum. I love the architecture of these buildings. You did a nice job of photographing them. How old are some of these buildings? We have some structures here which date back to the 1600 to 1700's. I was wondering if these were perhaps older. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Ed,
      In general, the structures date from the 16th through the 20th centuries. However, the guidebook we bought said at least one structure, or part of one structure dated prior to 1492. My husband and I discussed this at the time we saw it but we seem to have misplaced or lost our guidebook so I'm unable to verify or identify that building right now. If I find it and can give you more info later, I'll update this post.

      Chaco Canyon in New Mexico and Mesa Verde in Colorado are some of the oldest building sites I know of in the US. It's sad we as a society don't know more about the first cultures that existed in our country. There's no doubt things we could learn about how to live without destroying too much.

      Delete
    2. Hi Ed & Martha. One of the oldest settlements I know of in the U. S. is the city site of Cahokia, MO which dates from 700 AD to 1400. It was a city larger than most European cities of the era with a population between 10-20,000. A major trading center with goods from the Great Lakes to Mexico City and dominating much of the Midwest. These people made advances in many areas of science and technology. About 1400 it just disappeared leaving many mounds on which temples had been built.

      Delete
    3. Yes, you are right, Jeff. I had forgotten about that one and had to look it up again. Thanks. Fascinating...wish we knew more about it. Would love to see it. The large Serpent Mound in Ohio is evidence of another ancient culture as well. Not so old but certainly interesting is the Shaker culture in the north and eastern US. It seems they had some really great ideas about living (and perhaps some not-so-great) and invented some ingenious tools to make their chores easier. They had a paint bucket contraption that comes to mind every time I paint a room. And, of course, their furniture was simple yet exquisite. Wish we still had that kind of craftsmanship at an affordable price.

      Delete
    4. Thanks for the information Martha and Jeff. I was unaware of the Cahokia, MO site. I'll have to do some reading on that. It sad to think how much heritage has been lost.

      Delete
    5. Ed, I found the guidebook and can now better answer your original question. The museum's oldest building is the Hauserl Barn, dated 1442 and containing a roof truss dated 1751. Very thoughtful of previous owners to carve the year into the building...guess they expected them to last.

      Delete